Some Wins Now For Briere

If the Canadiens need some inspiration, and it seems that they may do, they should think about this:

Daniel Briere is 36 years old and not looking at too many more contracts in his future. He also happens to be one of the premiere playoff performers of all time to never hoist a Stanley Cup.

New York-Montreal Game #3: Tokarski & Clutch

Date: 22/05/2014
Opponent: Rangers
Location: New York

Win: 3-2 (OT)

Habs Goalie: Tokarski (W)
Opposition Goalie: Lundqvist, (L)

Habs goalscorers: Markov, Briere, Galchenyuk
Opposition goalscorers:Hagelin, Kreider

Revving Up Round 3: Strengths and Weakensses for Canadiens and Rangers

What a pleasure to have to write another one of these. Another series means the Canadiens strengths might be tested in different ways, as well as their weaknesses. To analyze the Rangers is a taller task than the Bruins, as they occupy less of my thoughts on a regular basis. Here goes anyway.


Canadiens strengths


1. Depth of scoring (Same as Bruins series)
This strength remains a core strength. In fact it did the Bruins in. To have Daniel Briere take a 4th line shift is a huge luxury, as is having a revitalized Lars Eller with experienced Gionta and fast Bourque on the 3rd unit.

The fortunate problem of the Canadiens coaching staff right now is the imminent return of Alex Galchenyuk: one of the team's strongest on-puck players. Usually it takes time for a player to go from first contact practice to insertion in the lineup, so don't expect #27 on Saturday. Beyond that, it's a coach's decision. The depth he adds is interesting as he could be inserted onto any of the forward lines to create a change of look and improve talent level throughout.

Boston-Montreal Game #7: The Depth of Desire

Date: 14/05/2014
Opponent: Bruins
Location: Boston

Win: 3-1

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Rask (L)

Habs goalscorers: Weise, Pacioretty, Briere
Opposition goalscorers: Iginla

Revving Up Round 2: Boston vs. Montreal (Playoff Experience)

When it comes to a series of underdog vs. Cup favourite, a lot of words are trotted about experience in these situations. The wisdom is that Boston has more and can use it to their advantage. Let's see this in raw form.

Revving up Round 2: Strengths and Weaknesses for Canadiens and Bruins

I have done a little analysis and want to take a bit of time to share and perhaps preview the next series. But before that, a taster of a preview: the strengths and weaknesses I perceive in both outfits.


Canadiens strengths


1. Depth of scoring
Right now, one of the Canadiens strengths is depth of scoring talent. Each line rolled out by Therrien has a one-time 20+ goalscorer on it, every line has a guy who has scored an important playoff goal, and even at one time has led his team in a tough situation. The epitome of the strength is in line three where the Canadiens captain skates opposite the current hot duo of Lars Eller and Rene Bourque. This is a fast trio that showed it doesn't need possession to make a dent. It was a nightmare for Tampa, and will be seen as a worry by Boston. If Gachenyuk recovers, this argument is only bolstered.

Tampa-Montreal Game #4: Pacioretty Sweeps Habs Into Round Two

Date: 22/04/2014
Opponent: Lightning
Location: Montreal

Win: 4-3

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Lindback, Gudlevskis (L)

Habs goalscorers: Briere, Eller, Gallagher, Pacioretty
Opposition goalscorers: Palat, Hedman, Johnson

The Proposed Forward Lines

With the foregone conclusions of camp playing out in real time, we have now had a chance to read about line combinations and see them in action. Therrien hasn't changed much, but a couple of additions and action on late season feedback has led to at least three lines that seem set in stone. There are things to like and dislike about each:

All For Nill

July 4th, the day before the free agent window was supposed to open will likely overshadow the 5th in the fullness of time.

Philly's Mess Catches Up With Them

Richards, Carter. Gone, gone.

This good news for the Habs is ostensibly bad news for the Flyers and their fans. Richards and Carter were a big part of the Flyers success and a huge reason the team ever got close to a Stanley Cup without a goalie.

But that's where it all goes wrong isn't it?

Without a goalie.

For most teams, not having a good goalie is a problem. For Philadelphia it's a brain-devouring complex. That's why instead of applying a bit of patience and recognizing what a good thing they may have pulled from thin air in Bobrovsky, they went out and did what they always did and signed, signed, signed.

Bryzgalov is a good goalie, don't get me wrong. I like him, I like his chances in Philly. But you will note that Anaheim let him go, that Phoenix let him go, that Phoenix doesn't have any Cups.

A goalie simply can't do it all. Let me rephrase that, a goalie not named Thomas or Hasek can't do it all. A team needs to put talent at all positions and use their salary allowance wisely to do that.


Philly's real problems

A lot of articles on yesterday's trades say things like "Holmgren managed to unload Carter's long-term contract/Richards salary cap millstone".

I think these comments are way off the mark. Both players were paid in the $5 million range and both performed to the level of their salary, which in the world of guys paid that much means they were bargains.

What's more, the salary cap hasn't been going anywhere but up, even through the worst financial period in modern US/Canadian history. As the proportion that a $5 million salary takes up shrinks, the better a long-term deal for a producing player paid at that level looks.

Saying nothing about intangibles at all, I can firmly say that Richards and Carter were not the salary cap problems in Philadelphia. If anything, they were among the contracts that permitted them to spend with abandon at times.

The real problems in Philly come in at the back end.

The Pronger deal wasn't expensive at the time, but it was a gaffe to sign him long-term past his 35th birthday. This contract is central to their problem.

Timonen is another. If Price/Halak was a luxury, Pronger/Timonen was a bigger one. Both players are paid to be #1 Dmen, but the name implies there can only be one #1 Dman. The other became the most expensive second fiddle in the league.

And it didn't stop there. Rather than fill out a roster like everyone else in the league would with prospects and a couple of cheaper contracts at the back (to defend other teams' fourth lines), Holmgren put $3 million players at every hole.

The Flyers biggest cap problem was their luxury defense, which got them 7th best D in the East with 6 less GA than Florida.

Other than their $22 million defence corps, Philly also took on the dead weight contract of Kris Versteeg. In fact, they repeated their luxury buying attitude up front with a third line that included double millionaires all around.


Fix is temporary

Philly found a temporary fix for immediate cap space, but based on the Bryzgalov signing, it won't be used for prudent and conservative rebuilding. In fact, when the grossly overpaid forward comes in as the replacement for Carter/Richards, fans will most likely be wondering what these deals were for.


Habs news more encouraging

The Habs did better in the last couple of days with their signings and seem less likely to implode their plan and go schizophrenically down the garden path. While I'll always lament Gauthier for not getting in on action like Ville Leino or Andrej Meszaros, I at least admire his commitment to the plan he thought was working last spring. Holmgren on the other hand...

The Flyers moves do also serve the Habs well since this team was a chief rival and those two players were chief nemeses. Some fans will point to the danger of the rebuild for the Habs more distant future, but the contracts at the back, together with the quick trigger of Holmgren seem to provide the insurance that this team won't be a perennial problem.


I guess this whole thing just shows that making a cap mess will catch up with your team at some point. Chicago's mess cost them a lot, but they have a Cup to show for it. Philly, mere games away, just got a mess.

The Flyers Success Story Building Tips For The Habs

The Canadiens and the Flyers meet for the fourth time this season. This time, the Stanley Cup finalists sit on top of the NHL (tied with Vancouver) and are doing it with offense.

The game promises to be a good one (they often are in this rivalry), but aside from that, it’s a chance for Canadiens fans to glimpse a very well-put together NHL outfit for the last time in the regular season. Why well put together?

It’s been noted here before, and elsewhere, that balance has been a key with the Flyers. Their top three centres on some nights are Daniel Briere, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards. All first round picks, all having great seasons. Their wings are just as deep with Claude Giroux (the envy of a province), Scott Hartnell, Ville Leino, James van Riemsdyk and Nikolai Zherdev.

Surely a team like this would suffer at the back? Nope. Pronger, Timonen, Carle, Meszaros, Coburn and O’Donnell at its healthful best.

It’s a line-up with oodles of pre-professional pedigree and experience (10 first rounders) to go with their recently gained Stanley Cup teeth.
When one looks at this team, one has to wonder how Philadelphia came out on top over Atlanta, Florida, Islanders, and other perennial lottery seekers. They’ve had their high first rounders (Pitkanen, van Riemsdyk), but Philly has built this group through hard work, some good drafting and a commitment to a formula. I think there are some good lessons for Montreal managers here:

1) Big draft coming – be ready
2003 was one of the most talent laden drafts in the history of the NHL. There’s hardly a player drafted in that first round who hasn’t played in the NHL. It has more than its fair share of stars. Montreal media will never tire of telling us about how Andrei Kostitsyn (picked 10th) could have been Jeff Carter, or Mike Richards, or Zach Parise. Philly was one of a few teams that positioned themselves superbly for this draft. Prior to it taking place, they managed to turn Daymond Langkow into a first rounder from Phoenix. In doing so, they nabbed the #11 pick. In addition, they accumulated 7 picks in the top 3 rounds. Doing this affords a team with the freedom to cater to more scouts and take chances, while leaving those annoyingly unsuccessful hole-filling picks for later rounds.

2006 was the same story, deep draft and Philly was there with a boatload of picks. I’m not sure the Flyers go for Giroux at that time in the first round (their D was a big, big weakness) without the surety of 5 picks in the first 3 rounds.

Montreal’s done an OK job of this in the past (and 2003 and 2006 were pretty good hauls for them too), but this lesson just needs to be drilled in a little more.

2) Draft forwards, acquire defencemen
The best forwards are young, fast and dynamic. The best defencemen are old wise and efficient. It’s right there for NHL GMs to see, yet some still insist on picking defensive defencemen in early rounds (Komisarek, Fischer, Tinordi).

Philly has about 8 dynamic scoring forwards, any or all of which could score 30 goals. Add 9-goal Nodl and that’s nine. Of the nine, 4 are Philly first rounders, Nodl is a second rounder. Yes they added Briere, Leino and Zherdev through a variety of means, but their core is from their own scouting and commitment.

The contrast is their defence. Pronger (trade and sign), Timonen (trade and sign), Coburn (trade), Meszaros (trade), Carle (trade), O’Donnell (sign). Not a draft pick there.

Since the Pitkanen choice in 2002, Philly has had 6 first round picks. 5 were forwards. 6 times in 8 drafts their first selection was a forward. The Habs are all over the map in their first round strategy. Scoring has been a need for as long as I can remember (2008 was a blip, I admit) and the team is still drafting big Dmen.

3) Don’t be precious about prospects
Philly has had its fair share of name prospects pass through over the years. Once they may have been precious about them, but their recent attitude seems to treat them like assets until they are established. Pitkanen keeps getting mentioned and he was one. He was turned into Lupul, essentially. Other prospects that have been leveraged include Upshall, Sbisa and Lupul himself. A sentimentalist might have kept these and missed the opportunity their trading presented.

Montreal fans get very precious about prospects. Some still lament McDonagh and Valentenko. No one wants to throw away a prospect in a bad trade, but holding onto an average prospect may leave you with an average team.

4) Salary cap, schmalary cap
I’ve said cap space is overrated. Philly walks the walk. They pay the price for big parts of a team and they often go very close or over the cap. On at least one occasion, they’ve had to call in amateurs to avoid actually exceeding the payroll limit.

With penalties for going over so slack, and opportunities to bury salary in long recoveries from injury, it seems one way to create good depth is to rehab a ton of salary for the playoffs. Montreal missed the boat on this by pressing Markov to return and not insisting earlier on Gorges’ surgery. Both might have been available for later along with the depth their salary space would have left. Instead, Montreal lines the Molsons pockets as it carries cap space month over month.

5) Goaltender not cast as hero/savior, a real possibility
Philly doesn’t just happen into these goalies, they have made the choice to put money elsewhere. This year it’s Leighton, Boucher and Bobrovsky, last year it was Emery and co., Biron before that, and on into eternity. Philly hasn’t been able to hold a candle to the goaltending the Canadiens have put forward in the last two decades. Yet Philly has often been contending and making deep playoff runs, while goalie-driven Montreal has not.

Having a good goalie is not a weakness, but perhaps overpaying for one is. Turning goalie money into an extra goal for a game will pay the bills when good = 92% of saves and bad = 90% of saves.


This article could be way off. Philly made the Stanley Cup final last year, yes. But they barely made the playoffs and didn’t really beat anyone too good (sorry Habs fans). What’s more, their 69 points today is actually only 10 points out of 7th (hello Montreal) and their lack of goaltending could yet topple them from their perch.

Still, I think these lessons are good ones. They are not the only rules of operation, but rather 5 among many that Philly have exploited to find a bit of success and bottle it. They’re also good ones as there’s nothing stopping a team like Montreal from approaching things from this way right away. No one is saying they need to lose for 6 seasons (Oilers) to win, or anything.

The Karma Initiative

Last night the finale of Lost dominated the airwaves as recaps, interviews and the show itself were aired for nearly 6 hours. If the theme of the lengthy series was being lost (either in body or soul) then the ending, if it were a self-contained movie might be called Found.

One of the favourite devices of the writers of the TV program was to bring back long since "deceased" characters to resolve a plot line or move the story along. As the main protagonists all attempted to move to where they needed to be, these forgotten friends often appeared to help them along. Setting the whole thing in motion was Charlie, and then finishing the job were some cameos from Rose and even Shannon.

The Canadiens look set to dominate the airwaves in this house tonight. What, with recap videos, interviews and the game itself, it all seems a little familiar. Like the ABC moneyspinner, the Canadiens are seeking a resolution. Lots of things they once held are now lost. Their fans hope some may be found.

Habs fans hear ad nauseum how lucky they've been to beat Washington and Pittsburgh. Cammalleri has been shooting over 20%, Gionta at nearly 13%. Their goalscorers have been lucky. And Halak, maintaining a save percentage of over 0.930 after a season at only 0.926 – well he had to come crashing to earth.

Perhaps they have. Turn around and hear Philadelphia's wonderful system creating a team worthy of moving forward. No out of whack stats there...

While Cammalleri and Halak have done their best Jack and Sawyer impressions, the dwindling cast of contributors might need more help. Lost for some time has been Benoit Pouliot. Once the man to mark, he hasn't been that man since early March. And the goalscoring of others has been AWOL too. Andrei Kostitsyn (who Brunet reminds us about every shift) hasn't scored since an April hat trick. Gomez's goals even more distant. And you can add Plekanec to the mix. If you've lost count that's 2/3 of the top lines. Add Metropolit to the mix, a 10 goalscorer on the PP and 16 overall, as he has 0 in the playoffs (as long a stretch as 1/4 of a season). And you might as well think about Hamrlik, goal-less, and Darche too.

There's not a 50 goal-man in there, but there are a few 20 goal threats. And while 20 goal men will have 60 scoreless games in a season, and are not at all unfamiliar with 18 game slumps, the thing about them is they do score 20 goals. Sooner or later, one of these players will bounce one in off Ryan Parent or score a goal with an ankle. Sooner or later, their line change will be cut short by an unlucky Flyers bounce to spring a breakaway for the Habs – one on which they actually score.

If this series were long enough (80 games, say), I'd even expect all these things to happen. The interesting thing here is that time is running out. Will the Canadiens, lie the writers of Lost be able to resolve their season. Will karma, like the writers of Lost call on the Shannons of the team to move the plot along.

We'll see.

Karma sometimes comes back to you too at some point

Or at least, that's what I hear.

Perhaps a team that made the playoffs on the back of a terrible second half and a shootout, and the Conference final due to a heroic turn of karma should be careful what they wish for.

Perhaps a guy that plays on the very edge of the rules and looks to all but the NHL disciplinary committee to step on the ice to end careers sometimes shouldn't count his chickens before they've hatched. Or perhaps be wary of calling others cheats, as he did the Bell Centre staff just the other day.

After all, who in the hell do you think you are? A superstar? Well right you are...

Game #3-2 Comeback Required As Flyers Take Page (Pages) From Montreal's Playoff Book

Thanks to Ian and my Dad who helped fill in the blanks as Tobalev and I were caught having to accept an award during sporadic iphone game viewing

Details

Date: 18/05/10
Opponent: Flyers
Location: Philadelphia

Loss: 0-3

Habs Goalie: Halak (L)
Opposition Goalie: Leighton (W)

Habs goalscorers: None
Opposition goalscorers: Briere, Gagne, Leino

Play of the game

Possibly Halak's save on Asham about midway through the 2nd. A defensive miscue (which has been par for the course this series) allowed Asham to get free with the puck and skate in all alone on Halak. Good fundamentals allowed Halak to completely shut down a dangerous breakaway with a 1-0 score, keeping the home crowd a little quieter and the momentum in the Canadiens' court. However sadly futile it turned out to be.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Michael Cammalleri
Spearheaded the best of our offence, including some prolonged rushes in the Flyers zone. Had a great steal and a great chance off that. Played hard every shift, like he was desperate to score, which we are. Played just over 24 minutes, the most of any forward.

Brian Gionta
Another guy you can tell is doing everything he can every shift to put the puck in there - he led all skaters with 8 shots and really tried to get something going with Gomez and Moen. His dumb penalty should take him out of the running, but because of his lackluster teammates it really doesn't tonight.

Andrei Kostitsyn
Our friendly observers do not come out with agreement on the forwards after this affair, but on balance I choose Andrei as well. He caught our eyes several times with heads-up plays, including a dandy to get a nice solo chance on Leighton. In large part making it because so much of the rest of the team was poor (i.e. he also didn't catch my eyes with too many big mistakes), but also in part because the team needs an injection of what Andrei Kostitsyn can provide. Despite all my respect for Dominic Moore and his effort, finding the lethal shot is now much more important than reinforcing the value of hard work.

Defencemen

PK Subban - Game Puck
Proving he's the real deal by coming back from a bad night with an almost on-par performance; "almost" because Subban has set an unfairly high standard for himself with his performance so far these playoffs. He provided most of the flair on this night, and more energy than most of the team. He played decent defence, and was willing to take some smart risks to create some offence. His worst missed play did anger me significantly (should have gotten a puck and shot on a power play in the third), but at least it was in the offensive end - and arguably would have been too little too late in any case.

Roman Hamrlik
Gorges was in until that goal in the third period - while Halak was caught sleeping, there was time to yell at Gorges to hit his man 3 times before Leino, scored. Hamrlik, on the other hand had a fairly solid game at the back end – adequate if not spectacular. It pains me that a player could make the dome for Game #98 simply by show of effort, but that is what gets Roman in. His 5 attempts on net are at the very least a start, an example of how to beat the mysterious Philadelphia defensive system.

Goaltender

Jaroslav Halak
He teeters in here with the casual goaltending that deflated any hope of comeback in the third. But hear us out. Briere's goal was a beauty, one for the highlight reels - so top-corner that it bounces in off the crossbar. In addition, Halak made some downright spectacular saves over the next 30 minutes; he even made the first save on the rush leading to the second goal. Halak did everything to keep his team in it until he got caught sleeping on a shot that never should have been taken. It’s borderline for him, but given his early proficiency, the blame can’t entirely be laid at the goaltender’s feet when the team has scored no goals over 120 minutes.

Comments

Last night, Tobalev and I were both caught having to go accept an award for some volunteering we did together. Like the organizers of the event, who joked that they hold these things in mid-May to avoid Montreal playoff conflicts, we were caught in a happy/unhappy conflict. The meal was good, the speeches were good, and it's a good thing for Blackberries and iPhones, because half the room was on score duty. Many tables huddled around the tiny phone screens.

Anticipating the worst, we asked my Dad and friend and friend and stern habs critic, Ian, to fill us in with their impressions and select a dome. Having watched many games with both, we can tell from the comments that this was a game in which we'd have shared in the frustration. No initiative, no energy, tame shots, slow defence, incomprehensible tactics - these are all themes (and I'm sure you'd all agree). The result as always colouring the impression, yet how could it not. At some point players have to start doing anything, or at least appear to be willing to do anything to win.

If we stretch, we tease out some positives. Subban recovered. Halak was not world-beating, and let in a bad goal, but a team that could score at all would have a chance with him. The Plekanec line looks like they might be making inroads. Lapierre and Moore, though underused can be relied upon.

So where from here?

Well, we watch for a start. Clearly awards ceremonies are out.

Seriously though. The Canadiens really do have to start taking the initiative. The Flyers are taking a page from Jacques Martin on D. It's high time the Habs watch some Pittsburgh and Washington game tape. Just off the top of my head, I think I can point to shots from outside as key. Pittsburgh had to lose Game #2 before they understood that beating Halak from inside was going to be unlikely at ES. They adjusted and started shooting, and shooting smart from the bluelines. The Habs could learn big from this as Leighton is only human, and like Halak he can't save all that he can't see. Sooner or later a point shot will go in. Maybe two. It's easy to forget how close Pittsburgh came to winning by relying on Gonchar and Letang, but the time to remember that is now.

All is certainly not lost. I said today, that I have a feeling the final won't be Chicago vs. Philly. There's a comeback in these Conference finals. An early goal Monday, from the point, from in close, off a knee, anyhow, anywhere is the perfect way to make sure it's not Jumbo Joke.

The Canadiens Need A Rethink

The other night was a mess for the Canadiens. But of the many ways to lose, 6-0 is not the worst. In fact, Don Cherry joined many a fan in thinking that a drubbing may be just the medicine for the Canadiens to open this series. A call as to what they need to expect and how far they have yet to go.

It’s a theory I have heartily bought all my years. When rivals of equal measure meet, the lopsided defeat is often the sounding of the turnaround alarm. An OT defeat, as Cherry points out gives too much optimism, sometimes warranted, often not.

It is the binding hope of all Habs fans today that Pronger, Leighton, Carle and Gagne will be so sure of their plans and abilities that they’ll forget the Canadiens are allowed to play better. It is the hope fed by that win that Carcillo and Hartnell will be unleashed, listening no more to their coach (and restrainer) as they try to get in on the act, while taking their eye off the prize.

Not minutes after a rare meeting of minds between Cherry and me did Elliotte (still dying for someone to answer a question) Friedman chat with Daniel Briere in the hallway of the Wachovia underbelly.

It was there the spanner in the works. It was there I realized that the Canadiens must beware not Briere’s shot, but his realism. For, while he succeeded in pointing a screened effort into the top corner in the second, most shots do not go in. But realism in the face of what should be bald-faced optimism by all Flyers is disturbing.

Briere would not take the bait from Elliotte on Halak, though he did admit they had looked at tape. Briere instead chose to invoke luck and timing rather than take the heaps of credit 6-0 victors usually reserve for their celebrations. It was fortune that felled Halak and fortune that prevented an answer from the bleu, blanc, rouge.

Not taking credit is nothing new. Players often credit their teammates, their goalie or their coach for what has clearly been successful exploits of their own. Players too often thank their luck.

The problem here is, rarely do I believe them.

In Briere’s case, there was too much matter-of-fact to sense it was rehearsed. He believed what he said, or so I thought.


The hockey playoffs are a race to the finish line. Each series a heat where a competitor must outrun another to succeed to the next.

As a racer, I learned a lot about psychological advantage, mind games. Most competitors have a breaking point, the point at which a lead cannot be covered, a comeback unattainable. Most competitors also have the inverse, a comfort zone from which they can drive the whole affair. The games come in with the strategy; sometimes a racer will allow his rival to lead to exploit the comfort that the lead induces, conserving energy for the strike that takes the tape away.

We’ve seen already that both these teams are plucky. Neither will roll over and die if there is a shred to hang onto. If the Canadiens, like their fans and Don Cherry, hoped that lulling the Flyers into a sleepy series was their key, I think they’d better think again. If these Flyers look to Daniel Briere in the least, they are a focused bunch.

Game #30Philly Let Habs Get Away With A Brutal First

Details

Date: 7/12/09
Opponent: Flyers
Location: Montreal


Win: 3-1

Habs Goalie: Price (W)
Opposition Goalie: Boucher (L)

Habs goalscorers: A. Kostitsyn, Cammalleri, Bergeron
Opposition goalscorers: Briere

Play of the game

No doubt with this one; it has to be Cammy's goal. A scrum at centre-ice gave Laraque a good chance to touch the puck and with that touch came a pretty undeserved 2nd point on the year. Undeserved because the other two players involved are the reason for the game-winner, not him. Lapierre was the recipient of Georges' 'pass' and in he went on a quasi-2-on-1. He made a very impressive toe-drag around Coburn and that gave him space. Instead of shooting, which is what most would have done, he found a wide-open Cammalleri. Mike wasted no time and took a very quick shot on Boucher. The goalie had no chance as the shot (and the play) was perfect.

Dome hockey team

The 6 players we're playing in a no changes, do or die contest in the dome

Forwards

Mike Cammalleri
Not as good of a game as Friday night, but 1 goal, the winner, buys him his spot tonight. His line got better as the game went on and they actually did quite well on the PP, but at the end of the day it was an average performance against a sub-par team.

Tomas Plekanec
Pleks played well, but Gomez did not, at all. Maybe the two of them can't both be good on the same night? I hope not. Pleks bagged himself 2 assists tonight, the first of which was quite something. That was on Kostitsyn's goal and it was the nifty centre who found a wide-open Andrei for his 3rd of the year.

Maxim Lapierre
For some reason Max only played 8 minutes tonight, but I did like what I saw. Who am kidding though, it was all that pass. The move he made and subsequent feed to Cammalleri are worth the dome alone. Once again his spot on the team looks to be uncertain, but at least he seems to be making the most of his (limited) chances.

Defencemen

Roman Hamrlik - Game Puck
This was a very good game from Roman. Not only was he the biggest reason Price only faced 15 shots, but he was also our best offensive contributor from the back end. He picked up 2 assists, led the team in ice-time and posted a mind-boggling 10 blocked-shots.

Hal Gill
This was probably Hal's best game as a Hab. I don't want to get too excited, as I think he has some serious defensive issues, but I can't help but notice how we have won both games since his return. The best part of his game happens to be his penalty-killing which was on full display tonight. He was on for over 4 minutes of short-handed time where he actually, to use the word lightly, was dominant. His big reach, decent positioning and willingness to bend obstruction and holding rules made him a force tonight.

Goaltender

Carey Price
I thought that Briere scored quite the goal on Carey. It was definitely saveable, but I must give the Flyer credit for fighting off two defenders, drawing a penalty and still getting it up and over Price. Besides that one play this was a very quiet game for the Habs goalie. 14 saves, none too tough, as he played behind a team that played quite well in its own end and another team that really seems to be lacking creativity at the moment.

Comments

What could have cost the Habs tonight would have been a team that was on their game. The Habs were fresh off the emotional high that was Friday night's on-ice festivities, Saturday's gala and yesterday's rest(hungover)-day. Luckily our 1 shot in the first was countered by only 4 from Philly. They did get their one goal then, however, and so we had some work to do. This game shouldn't be remembered as a Habs win as much as a Flyers loss though. Here is a team with pretty bad goaltending, scattered defence and very little conviction in the offensive zone. Throw a coaching change and some injuries into the jar, mix it all up, and you get a pretty sub-par team. These are the types of games that you should win and when you do you shouldn't get too excited. A visit to the nation's capital tomorrow will be a good test and one that I hope we can pass. A win in Ottawa could set us up for a 5+ point week which is really what we need after last week's embarrassments. We have 16 points to get in the next 13 games (Tobalev's December goal) and I figure we may as well get two of those out of the way tomorrow.

Was Briere Right?

Since the response from the readers hasn't been overwhelming and the response from the Habs has been downright underwhelming, I am foregoing the review of opposition players. Time to focus our positive energy on the team we want to receive it...

Nearly 10 months ago, when the Flyers were the worst team in the NHL and the Canadiens might as well have been, Daniel Briere stuck a knife in the back of all Montreal fans.

No, it wasn't his signing with Philadelphia - that probably ended up being a big favour to us - but it's what he claimed his reasoning was:

"The Philadedelphia Flyers give me a better chance at winning the Stanley Cup."


Following three games of evidence collected, although still a bit premature, I want to ask: Was he right?

The answer is not simple.

Our outrage at first must surely have been fueled by our fear that what Briere said may be true. But, at the same time, we all watch hockey and we know the Flyers don't have any Kostitsyns, any goaltending prospects and were for the most part the same team that managed the least regular season points in recent memory.

The answer is complex, but it shouldn't be, and wouldn't be, but for strange thinking among hockey people.

The complexity of the answer stems from the fact the NHL, and many of its influential touts, are intent on playing two distinct types of hockey in two distinct seasons.

Witness last night's game. Habs fan frustration towards the officials in this game does not originate from a perceived imbalance of calls on the night (we couldn't care less about that). It comes out of a recognition that a large number of tactics and plays that are being allowed to pass in these in these playoffs (including last night) would have been called during the 82-game part of the quest for the Stanley Cup.

Personally, I feel this "playoff hockey" officiating is to the ultimate detriment of the sport of hockey. While it allows jobbing teams like the Bruins and Flyers a chance to compete in the spring, it totally throws other teams, who've grown and built success over months, completely off course. It forces those teams, perhaps not built entirely around the use of size, force and loose interpretation of the rules, to play more tentatively. It forces them to relegate the game that won them their success to the sidelines while scrambling to stay in step with their sparring partner. The changes are sometimes even very tangible as players who contributed substantially to success are benched in favour of "playoff veterans".

Just last night, Tobalev and I were talking about how poorly O'Byrne played. Tobalev said: "Everyone knows you can't play a rookie defenceman in the playoffs. Amazingly, washed-up veterans are just what you need on D in the playoffs."

My feeling is that O'Byrne is out of step because he has not learned how to "cheat" yet, that is to play playoff hockey and get away with it. So, even though he's been better than Jason Smith over the season, he looks far worse after nights like last night. This would also be the reason for the futile decision to play Streit up front, I suspect.

A classic case of the regular season/playoff dichotomy were the Ottawa Senators of the early century (or early noughties, as they call them in England). Now that the Senators reign may be coming to an end, I would ask whether the league is happy that a team like Ottawa, an expansion success story and one-time model for how to build lasting success, never really had a shout at the Stanley Cup.

Sure, they made the final last year, but that was only after they had traded their former identity in Hossa and Havlat away to make more room for playoff heroes like Fisher and Neil. "Optimising" their line-up for playoff battles and Don Cherry did not even take them far enough. Ultimately, they came up short against a team that with the notable exceptions of Selanne, McDonald and Niedermayr were brought in to force a Stanley Cup shaped-peg into a square-shaped hole in Anaheim.

As Habs fans, perhaps we look at Ottawa and smirk and even have a chuckle about the pretenders we pretend they are. We shouldn't.

The Canadiens are a team being built in the image of Ottawa from that period. Our brain trust now was their brain trust then. We are trying to emulate the system of perpetual talent coming through, largely through outperforming competitors at European and US scouting. When we enjoy our decade of reward as Ottawa did, will we end up looking for Chris Neils to replace our Kostitsyns? I hope not.

However, after watching the games the past few nights, I feel that if the NHL does nothing to improve the consistency of its officiating (specifically from regular season to playoffs), then we are stuck. They will be encouraging us and other teams to play down to the level of playoff battlers, instead of striving to be exciting and positive like the Canadiens of this year and the Senators of this past decade.

I fear we may be in for comfortable 7-month stretches, followed by quite uncomfortable 1-month stretches – like the one we are experiencing now. The Canadiens will be forced to play a game they were not grafted in for. Sergei Kostitsyn will be hitting Hatchers instead of exposing his weak skating. Kovalev will be retaliating for hits instead of instigating highlight reel plays.

So was Briere right? If Daniel had said the Flyers gave him a better chance at making the playoffs, he would have been wrong. But, if these games (like the last 9 for us) continue, he may be closer to the truth than we initially thought.

For the record, I still think Briere is way off. The Canadiens have it in them to beat this team and then one or two more as well. Plus, he probably never thought about his statement like we have, I'd say anything for 10 million a year (and to get a grumpy wife off my back) too...

Game #2-1: (Belated) Flyers Dome

Another busy day, another delay in Opponents Dome. But watching the opposition is half the fun, so keep an eye on these six to see if they can solidify their claim to dome positions tonight...

Dome hockey team
They're going into the last minute with these 6 against the Montreal Canadiens (and they're attached to the ice, so they're not coming off)...

Forwards

Scottie Upshall
– can I please just call you Scott? you are not 5, though you are on the right team if 5-year old histrionics is what you are best at. Scott played a good game in that he did what he does best. He won a lot of pucks and won a critical penalty from Mike Komisarek. In fact, I think he was the man responsible for taking Komi's head right out of the game. We need Lapierre to be more like this pest.

Jim Dowd
– probably just the Habs connection, but I really noticed him in Game 1. In terms of stats, he was the best Flyer forward by a long shot (no pun intended). In addition, he scored the only legitimate goal for the men in orange and black - a nice one at that.

Patrick Thoresen
– he made the nicest offensive play of the night for the Flyers with that pass to Jim Dowd. Other than that, he was on the best Flyers line and isn't named Downie (who I have given a lifetime suspension from all dome appearances, as should the NHL, for that hit on Bergeron).

Putting Thoresen in is also a reflection on how bad the Flyers true stars - Briere and Prospal - were on the whole, while trying to shake coverage. Stats maven Jeff at Sisu hockey shows that: "The Briere line was utterly destroyed, but through dumb luck managed to keep opponents off the scoreboard." with some crazy stats I find hard to decipher, but great to look at.


Defencemen

Kimmo Timonen
- If someone as in-tune as Jeff at Sisu hockey says so, I listen: "Timonen was dominant but through some bad luck wound up -2." Mike Boone may be ignorant about Timonen (in the puckcast he claims not to be able to tell Finnish players apart), but Timonen was the Flyers best defenceman as expected. I thought that Koivu in particular was well contained, and even Kovalev for the majority of the game barring SH breaks, PP and late faceoffs. Timonen was responsible in large part for this

Derian Hatcher
- played a solid game, that was enhanced by the fact he was allowed to get away with an awful lot. He may be slow, but on a couple of occasions he demonstrated why he is still in the league - his strength. He's also in here due to the fact that none of his compatriots did anything too exceptional over the night, he also played the most even strength minutes of any Flyer after Coburn. The best play he made was holding the puck along the boards for about 15 seconds, thereby running down the clock at the end of the period


Goaltender

Antero Nittymaki
- you can't make the dome if you play like Biron did. It's nothing personal, and it's happened to Price many times, as well. 2 posts, that Kostitsyn goal, and the tying and the winning goals could all have been saves on a better night. Stevens thought Biron was good, so we'll likely see him again. Nittymaki would start for me in a dome hockey game

Meet the Flyers: Key Pillars

So important are the playoffs that they warrant a special look at the special players on the other team for once. Anyone who has watched a game or two of the Bruins series will know plenty about the Habs, though you still may want to check our original playoff preview here: Tobalev's Habs Preview.

However after a bigger dose than anyone wanted of the Black and Gold, we now have a fresh opponent to tangle with. Without further ado:

The Philadelphia Flyers.

To begin, I thought I'd remind everyone of a few key thoughts:

1) Just like the Bruins, the regular season Flyers could not figure out the Habs

2) Unlike the Bruins, the Flyers had an inferior record against the rest of the league (only by 1 point, though)

3) The Flyers are hot in OT, coming off a series-ending OT win and another earlier in the series – they were prone, however, to losing in OT in the regular season (3-5) with a losing record in shootouts too (3-6)

So, on the whole these are not a superior version of the Bruins, but an equal, or quite possibly inferior. Who knows what would have happened if we had played them 8 times, like we did the Bruins – we are about to find out.


I have sent requests to a few Flyers fans for insight, but must go ahead before I get it. I will be sure to include any if and when I receive it.

The last line – Martin Biron

Canadian Junior goaltender of the year in 1995, Martin Biron was only the second goalie selected in his draft year (following Hartford's selection of JS Giguere). This immediately raises questions about Biron and his pedigree. Firstly, what happened? Well, as it turned out, Biron's charmed season with Beauport was to come to a crashing halt when Jose Theodore and his Olympiques handled them with ease in the QMJHL playoffs that year. Giguere, in contrast, didn't even make the playoffs, but was a talent on a poor and struggling expansion Halifax team.


The reason this history is important is because that playoff defeat seemed to derail this decade-earlier, French Canadian Carey Price super prospect of his day. To say he is prone to derailment would be false. the fact is he was, always was with Buffalo. This would be the reason he couldn't wrestle a starting job from Noronen, and why as soon as Buffalo acquired an American standard bearer for their franchise, Biron was set free. But things have been different for Biron this season: he has won a starting job for the first time, he won 30+ games for the second time and his best save percentage ever – an elite save percentage for the first time in 6 years. In other words, at the tender age of 30, Martin Biron has finally become what he was projected to be 13 years earlier: a legitimate NHL starter.

His stats, while not staggering, have been good, especially when you consider defencemen 3-6 on the Flyers on any given night: 2.59 GAA, 0.918 Save% with 5 shutouts. And while many will post his abysmal stats against Montreal this season, he has generally been a thorn in Montreal's side of the years, with a save percentage a good level above his usual play (not helped by this year's game, of course).


He owes some of this success to the innate ability of all Quebecers to come to Montreal and play on another plane. While we can't discount the possibility that he'll tap this resource for the series, history has shown that homeboys mostly find that harder to do over a series than they do for a single game.

If it's chinks in the armour that you're looking for, it's worth considering that, in 62 starts, there were 17 occasions in the regular season that Biron let in 4 or more goals. Also, note that he let in 4+ twice in the last 7-game series. So while he shuts out opponents with some frequency, and generally stops shots at an elite level, he is not immune to bad nights like Carey had in games 5 and 6. Finally, consider that tonight Martin will be suiting up for only the 8th time for NHL playoff hockey, just like his decade-his-junior counterpart.

All in all, I would expect good solid goaltending from Martin. He gives the Flyers a good chance to succeed (as is the case for all the goalies at this stage of the competition).


The Game Maker – Kimmo Timonen

One question I asked my blogging colleagues from the Flyers camp was:
Who do you think has played the biggest role in the Flyers turnaround this year?

While I haven't received their responses, I am beginning to form my own picture of events through the research I have done. My conclusion is that Timonen is a man in the running.


His career stats page has more lines on it than I have seen in years. In the lockout year alone, he played for Finland twice and 3 different professional teams. I guess the man likes his hockey.

Timonen is no newcomer to the NHL. Since he made his first NHL roster in 1998, 5 years after being drafted in the 10th round, he has made an impact to his teams and the league. He has been one of the most consistent offensive defencemen around since 2002. Including this past season, he has 275 points over 6 seasons (an average of 45 a year). That is what made his trade and release from the Nashville Predators all the more remarkable, especially considering their need for salary just to make league minimum at the outset of the summer. The Flyers got themselves a real steal.

To the Flyers, Timonen has provided a steady NHL defenceman with legitimate potential to contribute up front. In other words, he is their Andrei Markov. And just like Markov, he has been charged with bringing up the main defensive prospect from the organisation in Braydon Coburn.

Coburn, not unlike Komisarek when alongside Markov, has benefited greatly from the wily Finn on his flank. Coburn, in the space of a year has gone from frustrating ne'er do well and throw away prospect (for Alexei Zhitnik!!) to pillar of steadiness on the Flyers top pairing. And, it is herein where lies Timonen's value to the team. While his own number's have fluctuated to an ebb by his standards (8 goals and 36 assists), his protege's contribution has soared.

Canadiens fans will surely be getting used to seeing Kimmo Timonen night in, night out, since his coach deploys him against all the top players in the league (read Kovalev). If Kovalev is hoping for an easy ride like he got against the Flyers in the regular season, perhaps he should cast an eye on the highlights of the just-completed Washington series. This is what his coach had to say bout him:

“He was unbelievable,” coach John Stevens said after the Flyers' 3-2 overtime win over the Caps in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals . “He looked like he could play all night out there (he actually played 28 minutes and change). He's playing against the guy (Derian) Hatcher said is the hardest guy (Ovechkin) he's ever had to play against.

“Kimmo embraced that challenge, he wanted it. Not only that but he contributes to the power play, penalty killing, all situations. He really stepped up for us. He wanted to be the guy and he brought (Braydon) Coburn along with him.”

The Game Breaker – Daniel Briere

Daniel Briere is on fire!

That could be my headline for a player I bill as the game breaker after he scores 6 playoff goals in 7 games with 5 assists to accompany them. Of course, the cynic in me want to write this headline:

Daniel Briere likes playing against AHL-calibre defences

That sort of headline would be grossly unfair to a player who is once again stepping up his play once the playoffs roll around for his team. This playoffs, his goals have been difference makers – with 4 out of 6 of them either tying up the game or putting the Flyers into the lead. In addition, his previous two playoff years, Briere has given point-per-game reliability – in fact, if you cast a glance at his career stats, you will see that he is PPG for the career in the playoffs. His kind of clutch play will be of utmost importance to the Flyers who would have to look hard to find another pure offensive talent on their roster.

In addition to having a great start to the playoffs, Briere actually had a pretty good season. If you accept that his contract-winning season of 95 points was an anomaly for the little man, you could see this season (his second highest goal and point totals ever) as quite a success. In trying to sell him short (yet again), I discovered that Daniel (or Danny as the Flyers homepage calls him) scored just as many points and goals against playoff-bound opposition as non-playoff teams. In doing so (and combined with his playoff excellence), he has once again shown his eager critics that he is a player to be reckoned with. You would only have to ask the Sabres to understand his full importance to his team.

As a game breaker, Danny is ruthless. He attacks with cunning and with speed. And unlike previous game breaker Marc Savard, Briere can do it all. His passes are top class and hiss goalscoring totals are impressive. As I mentioned earlier, he has a penchant for scoring important goals.

The Canadiens will no doubt put a lot of effort into creating a containment strategy for Briere. Luckily for us, we have some of the tools to do that. Especially with home ice, we can look to Komisarek and Markov every time Briere darts into the zone.


Of course, no preview of Briere would be complete without some mention of his Montreal snub just last summer. As we know, Gainey had at least approached the Briere camp with a stratospheric offer by Canadiens standards. For one reason or another (money), Briere turned it down (money). Some say his wife asked him not to play in Montreal (she wanted more money after tax), while others suggested he asked too much of the of the coach in line commitments. While the Canadiens would probably be a better team right now with 30-year old Briere on the team, there is no doubt in my mind that the offer rumoured to be for 7 years would have saddled the Canadiens with a player who would lose his value by year 6 and 7. While I am relieved we didn't sign Briere for the rumoured terms, I would be a fool to say i don't envy a French Canadian scorer who saves his best for the playoffs.


The Great Hope – Mike Richards

How many times did we have to hear about Mike Richards and Jeff carter being drafted by the Flyers as the major coup of the 2003 entry draft (ahem, Andrei Kostitsyn)? The fact is, it was a deep draft and the Flyers needed to get over that. The people who passed on Carter at 11 all got a better player in my estimation. Mike Richards was a good late round pick, but so were Corey Perry and Patrice Beregeron both picked later. Oddly, the Flyers have made a game of picking up whoever they can from the 2003 draft – with Coburn and Kukkonen both featuring on the big team.

As for Mike Richards, he has had a breakout season. Or rather, he had a breakout first three months. In his first 35 games, Mike looked like a real challenger for the scoring title, with 18 goals and 43 points. An injury helped to mask his lack of production which fell to 32 points (10 goals) over his next 38 games. I bring this up mainly because these first three months made Mike a very rich and famous man and rolled the Flyers fate for the forseeable future up with his own. That's because on December 13, he was handed a 12-year contract for $69 million with a maximum salary of $7.6 million for the 2013-2014 season. Quite definitely the most ridiculous contract in NHL history.

What the Flyers have now and what they think they paid for are two completely different entities. The Flyers, through their fixation on the year 2003, have committed to 12 years of Richards based on what they tab leadership. It is worth having a look at what they saw, as it could factor into the series at some point.

Basically, what the Flyers saw was the leader of every team he had ever been on. He captained the Kitchener Rangers to the Memorial Cup,and Canada to the World Junior Championship, while playing a huge role in Philadelphia's Calder Cup of 2005. This is what the Canadiens must also be wary of – a player with the extra gear. A clutch performer, so to speak. That said, I till think they could have signed him for less...

As if to live up to his best-case billing, he played very well in the first round. He posted 7 points in 7 games, playing in many important situations for his team. He'll look to continue making vital contributions to his team's cause in the second round.

If the Canadiens are to take heart, it is in the fact that Mike Richards was in play when they faced the Flyers before and they still managed to win. In addition, he was a minus player against the habs, just as he was against Washington this spring. He plays a straightforward game and gets his breaks from superior effort not otherworldly skills – as long as his effort is matched, the battle can be kept in balance.


So you see, there is more to the Flyers than their dirty play and skill-free bangers. How much more beyond these 4 is difficult to say, especially with Simon Gagne and Mike Knuble missing from their ideal line-up card. If the Canadiens can put complacency and doubt behind them and try to set the agenda in the majority of these games, then the talent math goes in their favour. Furthermore, the Flyers aren't as likely to use the same wait and see gameplan the Bruins did. When they try to open up, the Canadiens might just love the seams they begin to see.

Injuries and Call-Ups: Montreal Canadiens December 3 - December 9

The week that was
Gordie Howe, Chris Chelios, no Leafs, no Sabres.

The week started all wrong for the Habs didn’t it?

The biggest ovation for a player of an opposing team? We’re still in Montreal aren’t we? Beliveau was there wasn’t he? Other Canadiens?

Honouring the 81st anniversary of anything was always going to be strange. Luckily a real live rivalry awaited and provided us the only game we will keep in our memories from this December week.

Well, we’ve now well and truly entered a little slump. But come on, there’s no more reason to believe this will last than the delusion that we would pace the Senators to second in the East (with a fourth seed of course).


Thinking back to February of last year, it seemed like that slump was unstoppable too. Well, they turned it around and just about did the impossible. This year, the coaches told them to get their slump in early. In fact, it wouldn’t be such a bad plan, seeing as how the team can only really play well when there is some concrete reason to (i.e., you’ll miss the playoffs if you lose).

Still, we did get 2 points and prevent the now fourth place Bruins from moving very far ahead of us (1 point). It reflects the level nature of the league when a horrible week is 1-2, and the worst record over ten games (ours) is 3-6-1.

Not as many positives this week, even though I’m trying. Gainey making that move was positive, so was benching Brisebois. Playing 8 defensemen on Saturday was a big step backwards though.

With so few positives, I will take this time to mention things that worry me about last week and the past few weeks:

- Koivu. Still playing well, still chipping in some points, but not been a game breaker. He can be. I think we need him to be.

- Higgins. I think he may have gotten a bit carried away with his early success. 30 goals before 40 Chris.

- Markov. Same as Koivu. While his PP passing is still extraordinary, it was always his defense that impressed me most in the past. Not so recently.

- Those 3 guys are on the website opening page – ergo, they are the faces of the team, the players that represent what the Habs can be at their best. We need a turnaround from those three. Most of the rest are followers and will obligingly follow.

- Not giving Halak a start. Price looks average at best, and still needs to be pushed. Halak needs a little boost that an NHL start could provide. A solution is right there. Hopefully whoever it is can overlook pride and see it…

- A schedule that offers no easy ways back to winning.


In some ways having a week to put behind you is easier than one where you need to conserve some parts of what you were doing. Hopefully yesterday’s workouts were a re-invention of sorts.

I hope the coaches have had a look at what they are doing and recognised their own flaws. Their systems look like they need tweaking to me.





Quote of the week
On the art of giving a quote with no insight whatsoever (Higgins):

""We played a simple, effective game on the road and then we come home and it goes to shit."

Coming off a week where the coach's best idea for manufacturing a win was 8 defensemen (again)...

... what might Rejean Houle do?

Call Mario Tremblay and ask for advice.




... what might Sam Pollock do?

Visit the dressing room. Play the players a tape of those boos at the Bell Centre.




The week upcoming

I didn't see less than 3 points, that was until after the first few minutes of the Detroit game. With confidence at a seasonal low, we need to make sure that we are ready to try and win when the Southeast division comes calling (that's next week). This week we've got a team we can struggle with, a team we like to play and a crapshoot. The time for 3 points has passed. Come on, show some pride and pull in the majority this week guys.


Tuesday night: Tampa Bay Lightning at the Bell Centre.

Tampa has four really good players. OK, now we know that, let's use all our defensive forward expertise to take those guys out of the game and play their AHL affiliate. Hopefully, the big 4 will carry their good play into tonight and be ready for a change from posting points for a day. This seriously is the game to win. After the loss on Saturday, I think points are mandatory from this one.

Bolts to watch: Vincent Lecavalier and Jason Ward – we get to see how far our group of forwards have yet to go and how far they have come all in one line-up. Lecavalier is the best player in the league right now (barring maybe Lidstrom) and Ward is someone hanging onto an NHL job with a team that can't afford anyone better.


Thursday night: Philadelphia Flyers at the Wachovia Center.

The Flyers are a funny group. They seem to be built for beating certain teams. Take the Hurricanes, they have beaten them 3 times already. Other teams give them too much to handle. Based on the last game, the Canadiens could be one team that gives them too much to handle. If the Habs can prepare well and come to the game to win, then they should be able to demonstrate why the Flyers team-building technique is flawed.

Flyers to watch: Mike Richards and Daniel Briere – if the Flyers have scored goals this year, it is greatly thanks to these two. Briere is on pace for yet another good season and Richards is really breaking out offensively. Both are proving me wrong. Luckily the duds like Umberger and Hartnell balance that out.

Saturday night: Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre.

Best and worse case scenario with the scheduling here. If we win the first 2 games of the week, I don't want the Leafs to play for the third. If we win 0 (can't happen...) or 1, then the Leafs is a game the players will play for. We need a low-key Saturday night sometime (oh, it's next week).

Leafs to watch: Mats Sundin and Vesa Toskala – getting old, but I would be betraying this space if I ignored the impact mats Sundin has on these games, as for Toskala, he has been improving his play of late, and it has turned into Leafs wins. Even in those 5-4 games, goalies always seem to play an important part in Leafs-Habs games.



News from the Habswagon

AP December 09 2007 – Thousands of fans descended on Windsor station today for the first time in weeks. No sooner had they come, they were gone. People had come to lift up the tracks as the train was cancelled for lack of passengers. It was cold work for the former fans, but they managed to keep themselves warm by burning multiple No. 31 jerseys.


[The subjective look at the week that was and the week ahead in Montreal Canadiens Week is supplemented by the objective analysis following every fifth game]

Pierre Boivin lays down the law

Good old Pierre Boivin. He gave the media (La Presse/RDS in particular) the what for today when he asked them to relent in their ridiculous endless fantasies and conspiracy theories around the Briere signing.



If you understand French, I recommend you watch the video on www.rds.ca


He also let slip that we were after Rafalski on July 1, which I think is really good news. Obviously we didn't get him, but at least the talent evaluators have their heads screwed on straight. That only leaves one mystery defenseman of the supposed three we were after at large (as Hamrlik was also one).

And, did anyone else notice we haven't had a single story in La Presse about why Ryan Smyth didn't make his way up the I87?

I heard he asked to play with Samsonov and Shayne Corson who he felt familiar with from the Cup run and his rookie season in Edmonton, but Gainey turned him down, then retroactively traded Sergei and let Ryan down slowly with the news of Corson's signing with Toronto and susequent retirement. So close.